I'm interested in modelling a Bishops Castle Railway signal. The York museum have one somewhere but gaining access is very difficult. It dates from about 1866 and I think was probably a Stephens and Co. of Southwark London type. I notice it is not included in your lists of preserved signals or of railways. The BCR signals were of the type with a winch to wind up the lamp, candle powered I believe. They were used at level crossings and at the terminus stations where they were used to show whether the route was clear to the platform i think. Does anybody know of a photo of such a winch or a drawing of this type of signal please? I remeber one appearing in the early 1970s in I think Model Railways or Model Railway News but I have been unable to locate the issue.regards,Albyn Austin

There are several pictures of BCR signals around - I've not got the book with it [the one I'm thinking of] in, but there is a published shot around and (as supporting evidence that my memory isn't failing) the book has several photographs of the 'fake'[1] tickets from Plowden near the picture.

[1] they appear quite regularly for a certain date in ?1937 when the booking office was broken into after the railway stopped being a common carrier, and the tickets were dated. They pop up for auction every so often being sold as 'used' when really they are just audits. I think I've got a couple stashed away

ND: Why is there a door handle on the inside of my airing cupboard?MF: Because it's the fire exit from Narnia.

I like David Lynch films. I don't consider incomprehension to be a barrier to enjoyment.

Yes - they are Stevens' - ISTR that there is a drawing by Rutter in George Pryer's 'Southern Signals' (or McLean's LNER Constituents) - are you thinking of the picture at Eaton with the spectacules at a lower level than the main arm?

EDIT: correcting late-night spelling of Stevens!

Last edited by MRFS on Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:34 am, edited 2 times in total.

ND: Why is there a door handle on the inside of my airing cupboard?MF: Because it's the fire exit from Narnia.

I like David Lynch films. I don't consider incomprehension to be a barrier to enjoyment.

Photos aren't brilliant, but one of them shows a signal off despite crossing gates being across the line at Eaton. Another one at Horderley gives a better view of the lamp, albeit not clearly enough to model from. Don't base your model on this one though ... http://post.luxury-yacht.co.uk/bishopsc ... -0030.html

Not BCR, but as MRFS says, there are some good photos and an excellent drawing of how windlass arrangements worked in "A Pictorial Record of LNER Constituent Signalling" by AA Maclean on (pages 12-14).

Thankyou for the prompt replies. Yes it should be Stevens and Co. Reading about Colonel Stephen's plan to take over the Bishops Castle Railway which fell through when he found out the condition of the line and it's finances.None of the photos of the BCR signals in the books or online show the detail of the winch arrangement very clearly, or even the lamp and pulley very well. Was the winch drum inside the post or was it external, and what was the arrangement of brackets and crank handles and catches? It might all be obvious to somebody who knows what he's looking at but not to me. The late Ken Lucas who was archivist for the BCR Society kindly sent me a couple of pictures that he took when he saw the signal at York about ten years back. It was in a pile of other signal equipment out doors and you couldn't get close to the winch area, so the photos weren't much help. The BCR society was offered the signal on loan but had nowhere tall enough or long enough to keep it in.I'll get hold of the recommended books and visit the museum at Winchcombe to see a similar type of signal in the flesh as it were.The Eaton signal with the lamp and spectacle plate halfway up the post is a very tempting one to model I must say. In latter days, all the signals were out of use and disconnected, being retained for decorative purposes only, just like most model railways I suppose. The Board of Trade inspector on an inspection didn't like this idea but the railway just carried on, saying train speeds were low, and in latter years they ran only in daylight hours, more or less, and only had one engine in steam, [except for the big cattle fairs held quarterly when they had a cattle train and a passenger dispatched by the time interval system with a 15 minute headway, but they didn't tell the inspector about that].After 1923 they had to have vacuum brakes fitted to the coaches and engines, but as the trains were mixed and they reversed at Lydham Heath for Bishops Castle, it meant that on one part of the journey they didn't have continuous brakes, that is if they ran round rather than just reverse the three miles from Lydham to Bishops Castle. many thanks,Albyn

In the majority of these cases I think you'll find the winch sheave was inside the post, especially if it were a lattice post. I note that the signal photographed at Easton was a lattice post, and you can almost see the winch inside the signal at Horderley.

ND: Why is there a door handle on the inside of my airing cupboard?MF: Because it's the fire exit from Narnia.

I like David Lynch films. I don't consider incomprehension to be a barrier to enjoyment.

MartinYes the signal is a cracker, but is the painting of it accurate? white paint down to the base is that accurate for NBR signals? , it`s difficult to tell from photographs because of soot blackening from locomotives. I would appreciate views from members - when exactly did the black bases for signals start?